Chef De Tune First Interview

FLORIAN NEUBAUER, YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED CHEF AND RECENTLY ALSO A DJ. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

I am passionate about cooking and eating, I like music and I like to party. It has always been a dream of mine to DJ at my place of work at the Backstage Hotel Vernissage in Zermatt. In the evenings, we serve top-quality home cooking in the "Diner's Club" - there's pork knuckle, for example, but also caviar and oysters or liver mousse with tangerine jelly. This is a reference to my time at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London. There is also live music and an event once or twice a week. The opportunity arose for me to take over a DJ session.

ISN'T THAT QUITE DEMANDING – FIRST IN THE KITCHEN ALL DAY, THEN AT THE DJ BOOTH AT NIGHT?

I see myself as the jack of all trades, but so are many of our employees. First they work in the restaurant service, then at the bar. If you enjoy your job, you are happy to do a little more. In addition, I don't consider playing music or working in the kitchen at the passport as work. That's where the adrenaline comes in, it's just fun. It would be different if I had to answer e-mails in the office twelve hours a day...

THE CHEF IS LOOKING FOR CONFIRMATION FROM HIS GUESTS, AND THE DJ...?

Cooks are a bit keen on feedback and as a DJ it's the same: if people like it, they celebrate you. In the kitchen you try to bring together the right tastes and in the music the right songs.

YOU SOMETIMES SERVE CHICKEN HEARTS IN YOUR GOURMET MENU AT “AFTER SEVEN” IN ZERMATT. IS THIS SOMETHING LIKE YOUR ROCK 'N' ROLL MOMENT?

I would like to serve something to the guests in the restaurant that they would not prepare themselves and also rarely eat. In "After Seven" you should also be able to see and try something new.

CAN YOU COMPARE A MENU IN A GOOD RESTAURANT WITH A DJ SET?

I've only just started as a DJ, so it's too early for a definitive answer. A menu must taste good and arouse emotions. And a party can also be steered in a certain direction. Strobe lights make people more aggressive, for example, if we play hits from the 90s, sales at the bar increase by 30 to 40 percent.

“HOME IS WHERE THE RAVE IS” IS WRITTEN ON THE NEON YELLOW JUMPER. ARE YOU A CHILD OF THE TECHNO ERA?

I grew up in Jerichow in Saxony-Anhalt, and by the time I was 14, my friends and I had gone everywhere there were techno parties - to Berlin, Wolfsburg or to the "Burning Man".

WHICH OF YOUR DISHES IS THE SONG THAT EVERYONE CAN SING ALONG TO, SO TO SPEAK?

Our signature dish is confit cod with tomato beurre blanc and leek heart – everyone knows that, everyone understands it and everyone likes it.

NICK BRIL COOKS AT “THE JANE” IN ANTWERP AT TWO-STAR LEVEL AND HAS ALSO MADE A CAREER AS A DJ – A ROLE MODEL FOR YOU?

I never rule anything out, but it's not a fixed goal. But I definitely want to do everything 100 percent.

IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO DO SEVERAL THINGS 100 PERCENT AT THE SAME TIME?

It's definitely possible with the right team. And so I don't get bored, that would be the worst thing ever. At the moment I want to prove that I can not only cook, but also have managerial qualities and can deliver good figures - in this case in the "Vernissage".